Dynamic content may be delivered across packet-based networks, such as the Internet, and presented to users by a media player. Dynamic content generally refers to content that continuously or nearly continuously changes over time (that is, content with a temporal dimension), such as audio and/or visual content.
A media player may operate to present such content in at least two general ways. First, the media player can begin playing the content while the content is sent over the network. This is generally referred to as streaming, and the associated content may generally be referred to as streaming content. Streaming content may present certain advantages to the end-users, such as reducing the time between the content's selection and display and removing the need for client-side storage of media files.
Streaming content typically falls into two general categories: broadcast and on-demand. To a streaming server, a broadcast source is usually any external video or audio feed, such as a television or radio station, whereas an on-demand source is usually a multimedia file chosen by the user.
Broadcast streams are generally entered “in progress” by users. Each client connects to a single “pushed” stream so all clients experience the same portion of the media at the same time. Advertising and other marketing messages may be inserted into or around the content at spot breaks (also termed spot sets or pods).
On-demand streams are generally discrete “pulled” multimedia segments, such as individual songs or video clips that are delivered to each client upon request. Each client starts at the beginning of the clip. Unlike broadcast streams, in on-demand streams, advertising and marketing messages are usually put before and after the content (however, advertising and other marketing messages can be placed in-between two on-demand streams to achieve a similar effect as spot breaks in broadcast streams).
Second, as an alternative to streaming, the content may be completely downloaded in advance of play by the media player. The content associated with this method of operation may generally be referred to as downloaded content. The download approach may allow for delivery of higher-definition content than what the user's network connection might otherwise support when streaming, and may allow for offline viewing of content. Additionally, allowing the user to download high-definition content in advance of play may reduce the content publisher's reliance on more expensive streaming technologies.
Downloaded content may be handled through a download manager that resides on the user's PC or other media-playing platform. A download manager may let a user explicitly specify the content of interest, or it may pre-fetch content that it anticipates will be viewed at some point in the future.